Only in my Dreams...

Last night I had an incredible dream...I dreamt that I was going to partner with a shoe designer to design shoes...but not just any shoe, a special shoe that is also a shiatsu massager...The dream was so real that I actually thought I was starting a new career this morning! You see the guy in my dream who was making the shoes had absolutely no taste or style and was in desperate need for someone with an eye for fabulous shoes...So of course I was an invaluable asset to him. We were about to embark on a fantastic partnership where I would be designing stunning heels that not only looked fabulous, but gave you a massage at the same time...How amazing would that be! I was about to start my new day designing shoes when I hear "Come on Bubba, set 'er down over there...try not to drop it..." -BEEEEEP...BEEEEEP...BEEEEEEEP....(Truck backing up) - and then I woke up. In my bed, in my life as a web marketer, and Coco (my dog) staring at me waiting to go out for her morning walk. Reality.
After realizing I was NOT in fact a new shoe designer, I reluctantly got out of bed and went downstairs to get my morning cup of coffee and watch my morning dose of the Today Show. Low and Behold the big segment of the day was all about women and their obsession with shoes!!!! And how these gorgeous shoes are so uncomfortable that we women will wear them anyway, and deal with the blisters later...
Either a. I'm psychic, b. Its a sign that I need to become a shoe designer or c. I need to get back to my blogging about shoes.

Obviously I chose C. but I'm not writing off optiong A. or B.

Any shoe designers need any help? I am also not opposed to be a foot model, I've been told I have pretty feet...Either way, let me know, I've obviously got some terrific ideas!

Friends in Shoe Places

So I've decided I need to either make friends with a super shoe designer or become incredibly famous somehow and create my own line of shoes...

I was watching a very newsworthy current program on TV called the {ahem} Rachel Zoe Project, which is about a celebrity stylist by the name of, you guessed it, Rachel Zoe. When they are not trying to solve world peace and put an end to world hunger, this reality show follows Rachel Zoe as she works her skinny tail off styling the fab celebs of hollywood and beyond for very important events such as the Oscars, Emmys etc...Ok so its not the most riveting, intelligent TV show out there, however, my guilty pleasure with Rachel Zoe is all about the shoes! Rachel Zoe not only wears fabulous shoes she has an amazing selection of fashion forward, iconic, designer shoes she uses to style her fab celebs in as well!

So this last weeks episode was about all the usual styling dilemas etc...but there was also a segment where Brian Atwood, shoe designer extraordinaire, visits Rachel with a "Rachel Inspired" boot...If the term green with envy was a reality then my hair would have been the brightest green this earth has to offer...Never have I been more jealous or envious of another human being in my life. Rachel Zoe gets her very own "design inspired" boot??? Immediately my brain starts racing...#1 How do I become a super star celebrity fashion stylist/icon #2 How do I meet a famous shoe designer #3 How do I get to there from right here on my couch in Richmond, VA...not quite the fashion Mecca of the world...hmmm....#4 How can I get these crazy thoughts out of my head! Ugh...my reality seemed so boring at that moment and it made me sad that I was so jealous of someone I've never even met.

So dear readers my choices are as follows:
-I plea to the networks that they should do a reality TV series on my life as a web marketing guru/shoe lover
-I go off to hollywood or NY, wait tables and audition for every possible role that might make me a celebrity
-I join an existing reality show like the Celebrity Apprentice, Big Brother, the one where they all try to survive on an Island, oh yeah, Survivor, or the Bachelor (which would make my family oh so proud)
-I become my own shoe designer and design custom shoes for myself. Which means I'd have to go back to school, do some kind of apprenticeship? or internship or whatever, find a manufacturer, factory, supplies...etc...then I realized Wow thats a LOT of work...

OR

I'll just stick to my original plan to become rich and famous doing the stuff I already know how to do so I have the money to buy whatever shoe my heart desires....

and if that plan fails, there's always the old 'marry a rich husband' tactic which has obviously worked for so many other young females...Ha!

If there are any famous shoe designers looking to befriend a die hard shoe lover, I'm so your next BFF! Plus I'd be a great shoe model...I'm just saying.....uh.......Call me!!!!!!

Creative Shopping

So as a 5'3" gal I may not be super model status in height but I do have an advantage when it comes to shoe size! A few weeks ago before taking my annual summer vacation, I noticed my niece wearing a pair of adorable flip flops...Being in need of white nice looking summer sandals I thought those would be perfect for me! I asked my neice if I could try on her shoes and her response was..."No way Alyah, you'll stretch them! Your feet are so big! They're grow-up feet!" Grow-up feet??? Normally I would be offended at an insult to my feet however, coming out of my niece's mouth, it was adorable...Plus I too would hate it if someone, who had larger feet than I, tried on a pair of one of my favorite shoes...So I decided to venture to the kiddie department of Nordstrom and see if I could find a large kiddie size that would fit me and my >ahem< smaller "grow-up" feet...

I went shopping with my sister and since she has 2 kids she's always looking in the kiddie department. I pretended to be helping her find stuff but in reality I was trying to work up the nerve to ask to try on my niece's shoes in my size. Did you know that Kiddie Departments carry designer shoes???? I felt like I found a long lost treasure! Not only do they carry designer shoes but there are some kids with some pretty large ass feet (Thank God) b/c I found out that my size is not the largest kiddie size they have! In fact I'm about 2 sizes smaller than their largest shoe size! Whew!

Anyway, I was casually browsing the shoes of the kiddie department and a sales lady asked me if I needed help...I didn't want to look like a creepy lady browsing the kiddie department with no purpose and I quickly went through a number of reasons in my head to ask for a certain shoe size:
"My baby cousin is about my shoes size, and I need to get her a gift, can I try these on?"
"My neice loves these shoes and I wanna surprise her with them, do you have them in my size - ummmmm we uh, wear the same size"
"Can I see these in your largest size? They're a gift for someone" UGH!

What actually came out of my mouth was. "Ummmmm I feel a little silly, but do you have these in my size, I think they're adorable." And instead of a response of disgust from the sales lady, I was happy to hear her say. "They are really cute, I think we do...I'll be right back."

Immediately I felt overwhelming relief and I sat down with a huge grin and unbelievable satisfaction that it is in fact perfectly normal to try on kiddie shoes! With my new found confidence in the kiddie shoe department, I felt a sense of ownership and my shopping instincts turned on...I scanned the shoes and immediately noticed a glittery pair of Converse sneakers. Ever since Pink's grammy performance, I've been all about the shimmery glittery be dazzled look. So when the sales lady came back with my white sandals (which are super comfy and super adorable and totally matchy matchy with my 6 year old neice's - We are soooo cool!) I decided to ask her to bring out a couple more shoes for me to try on. Which according to her, was perfectly normal and she too would try them on if they came in her size and I wasn't the only "grow-up" who shopped the kiddie department...More reassurance never hurt anyone :)

I put on the glittery converse sneakers and I knew they had to be mine. I felt like a little kid - shocking I know! And I felt super cute and like one of the "cool kids"! I couldn't wait to wear them out and show them off...Plus I felt like I discovered a gold mine - kiddie shoes are waaaayyyy cheaper than "grow-up" shoes!

It's amazing how a pair of shoes can transform my spirits...Who knew little rubber and leather had so much power over making me feel like a superstar!

Looking for Inspiration...

It's been a while since I've crushed on a shoe. I've noticed some pretty neat trends with the platforms and the thicker straps but I haven't seen anything in a store that's been "stalker-worthy".

So the other day I went to buy my nightly moisturizer from Kiehls at Saks and I casually glanced over in the shoe department only to notice that they had their summer sales racks up!!!! After buying my beautiful Italian designer shoes I have been holding back the temptation to do any shoe shopping but I was like "what the hell! I'm here I might as well take a little peak."

Believe it or not - I hardly thought it was possible myself - but I was quite dissapointed with not only the sale rack but the entire collection...Whats up with your buyers Saks??? Are you all down in the dumps b/c of the economy??? Has that affected your eye for picking out stellar shoes??? I was expecting to see some of the newer hotter styles I've been seeing on some of my favorite reality stars but instead of falling inlove with a new pair I left with no crush or love interest whatsoever...There is a certain rush of excitement when I see a fabulous pair of designer shoes...There wasn't even 1 pair I felt the desire to try on!

Saddened by the Saks experience I decided I needed a new shoe stalking venue (aside from my online stalking). I learned of a little boutique that sells designer shoes here in the Richmond area and I'm very eager to explore their collection.

But a friendly message to Saks - Your shoe collection sucks - its depressing and I'm sadly dissappointed... You made my Nike flip flops I had on more appealing than the collection of Manolos you had on display - that NEVER happens! Your job is to make me want to throw my flip flops off my feet and dive into a pair of glorious to die for heels and make it my mission for the next few months to own them...and for that, you failed...I left happily with my Nike flip flops, my Kiehls lotion in tow and a happy bank account but no new love interest...

Ciao Bella - Italian Shoes in Italy

Well folks its been a while I know and I'm terribly sorry to have left you hanging in anticipation of my latest shoe entry but I've unfortunately been ill for a few months and am just now on a course of treatment that's getting me good as new :) No worries, nothing serious, just a pain in the rear dealing with it but all is good and I'm on the mend...That said I have wonderful news to share with you all...No I still have not gotten my Louboutins and I'm still on the prowl. My Louboutin fund is growing slowly but surely; you'll never find them on sale and you need a good $600-$700 to buy one of those beauties...But what I have to share is just as great if not better!

My wonderful family treated me to a trip to Rome for my upcoming birthday. April 16th dear readers if you must know the exact date (Side note: I'm a size 6.5/7 just in case you were wondering)...Anyway, Rome???!!!! What in the world would a gal like me be fantasizing about as soon as she heard the news? People were saying:

Oh you're so lucky the food is amazing - Whatever

Oh you're so lucky the men are gorgeous - Who cares

Oh you're so lucky the art is magnificent - Big deal

NO people!!! I'm so lucky b/c NO ONE makes shoes like the Italians...It's no accident that the darn country is shaped like a freaking SHOE!!!!! All I could think about for weeks when I was laying in bed with a Thyroid the size of a football and unable to swallow was that in a few weeks I would be putting my feet into REAL ITALIAN LEATHER SHOES!!!!!!! But my concern was how am I going to go to Rome when I have zero energy, a massively ill Thyroid, and unbelievable fatigue and lethargy....I was being tested for all sorts of auto-immune diseases that affect the Thyroid and luckily everything was coming back negative....I learned that I have a virus that really can't be treated and needs to take its course - a minimum duration of 3 months!!! AAAAAAArrrrrrrrgggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! So, when my Thyroid swelled to the point where it began obstructing essentials like eating and breathing, my doctor put me on a course of steroids...

So thank God for modern medicine...3 weeks of Steroids, still going strong, Thyroid is no longer making me look like the elephant woman, I have a little more energy, and I was cleared for travel...Italian shoes here I come!

The trip to Italy was long! I'm not talking about like the normal 9 - 10 hours of flying time I'm talking about the slight 6 hour delay we had as we were about to fly across the Atlantic Ocean and our pilot realized we were having "technical difficulties". Yeah, totally freaky and it could not be resolved in the air...So just as I'm getting closer to the land of beautifully hand crafted leather, our plane does a 180 and we land back in Philly....Of course I'd rather a 6 hour delay to my shoe shopping spree than end up in the middle of the Ocean so I was still happy and optimistic about my future addition to my shoe collection...

This is a blog about shoes so I will not tell you how gorgeous Italy really is...I will not tell you how the food really is amazing, that not only the men are beautiful but the people of Rome are super friendly and welcoming. I won't tell you how I was amazed every day at the beauty all around us in the fountains, the art work, the architecture, etc....but I will tell you how AMAZING the shopping was!!!!

Of course everything was super expensive but b/c of my Lebanese heritage its in my blood to barter and "when in Rome"....that's what you're supposed to do :)

One day we're walking down one of the picturesque cobble stoned streets on our way to what is the Rodeo Drive of Rome down Via Veneta approaching the Spanish Steps that would take us to Designer heaven...on the way my shoe radar went berserk and I made my sisters and mom take a slight detour into a little store by the name of Moonlight on one of our newly learned shortcuts.

Immediately I saw what I had been dreaming about lying sick in bed for weeks...Silver ruffles, the perfect heel, feminine to a tee, dainty, satiny, and all around lovely Gianni Marra shoes! The Gods were on my side b/c these super pricey beauties were on sale!!!! We were destined to be together b/c they were the last ones in stock in my size, they were in my budget, and I'd been looking for a ruffled shoe and a platform shoe and these were BOTH in ONE!!!! AAAAAhhhhhhhh so excited....but then I was like hmmm I'm in Italy maybe I can barter them down a bit on the price. People believe it or not they ended up giving me another 20% off b/c I found a teeny tiny naked to the normal-non-anal-shoe-lover-eye defaux...AND it gets better...in Italy shopping is tax free for foreigners so I got another 12% knocked off b/c of taxes! So not only did I get a unique authentic ITALIAN designer shoe that I absolutely adore, I got them at a bargain!!!! This was like day 2 of our week long trip so I was elated for the rest of the trip....Thyroid what? Well that and spending time with my wonderful family of course :) Ah Italia, Bellisima!

Aching for Warm Shoe Friendly Weather

I've been getting many emails about why I haven't posted an entry in a while...and quite honestly dear readers its b/c I'm bitter about the crappy weather we've been having here on the East Coast! I'm sick of the snow, I'm sick of the cold and I'm sick of wearing my UGGS everyday to stay warm!

I want to wear my brand new Stuart Weitzmans and every time I hear the stupid forecast, I look down at my new shoes, tucked away neatly in their new box waiting for me to take them out on their first adventure...and I have to keep them in there as sad as it is to protect their untainted soles from the nasty, muddy, icy ground...

To make matters worse I'm actually having nightmares about not being able to wear my favorite shoes...Seriously! The other day I was watching "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" with my niece and nephew and the main character is an inventor and he invents this crazy spray-on shoe that stays on his feet permanently his entire life...they are really ugly and rectangular and like a dingy dark grey/blackish color...So my nightmare is that I have these permanent spray-on shoes and I can't get them off....I wake up in the middle of the night in cold sweats throwing the covers off terrified that this horrible thing has actually happened to me!!!! And when I look down I see my feet, wiggle my toes and am relieved that it was only a dream...But I'm telling you, that's how anxious and upset I've been about this horrible weather...I'm actually in beautiful shoe withdrawal! I'm even starting to feel like a loser prancing around the house in my shoes pretending like I'm going to really be able to wear them out...So while that used to make me happy its only making me feel worse...

The only solace I have is my brand new pedicure....Oh sunshine and warm weather - how I'm missing you...

Show/Shoe Stopper!

I'm in love. I have just discovered a new shoe designer and I must get my feet into one of his creations...

I was watching the Grammys last night and was blown away by Pink's performance...she looked absolutely lovely. She walks on stage singing her ditty "Glitter in the Air" in this hooded frock. She walks out slowly singing this sweet ballad then stops in the center aisle and slips her silky dress off to reveal a see-through gem studded unitard that leaves little to the imagination- but that's not what really impressed me...as I looked down the outfit I saw these stunning sparkly open toed stilettos that have the most perfectly shaped heal, a sleek strap around the ankle, with jewels that took my breath away! While I was genuinely impressed by her acrobatics and ability to sing while she performed a lovely Cirque du Soleil-esq performance, what I couldn't take my eyes off were her gorgeous shoes! I kept thinking, who designed them, where can I get them....I MUST have them!!!!!

So during my lunch break today I was scouring the Internet reading all kinds of forums and blogs and posts and Twitters and what have yous just to figure out the mystery of her shoe designer! I found millions of posts of "fashion police" types critiquing the clothing of this star and that star but NO ONE was talking about Pink's shoes! I got so desperate I became a Twitter follower of Guiliana Rancic who is an E correspondent and is going to be on the E-Fashion Police with Joan Rivers, and others to dissect the fashion of the stars of the red carpet last night at the Grammys...I begged/tweeted her to please let me know who designed Pink's shoes during her high flying, wet soaking, singing extraordinaire performance!

But I'm super impatient and decided I couldn't wait to find out...I was determined to unravel this mystery that had consumed my thoughts! So I went back to the millions of blogs I checked this morning to see if there were any new posts and there it was...Some wonderful person had discovered a site that actually mentioned the shoes in Pink's act! So dear readers I will share with you that she was wearing Rene' Caovilla....an Italian shoe designer who's shoes can be found at Saks, Neiman Marcus and other such places in the US.

http://www.renecaovilla.com/
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/02/01/in.style.grammys.best.dressed/

If this crazy snow ever stops, I'm planning a shoe hunting day at some boutiques here in Richmond that may carry this talented designers art work...My feet are looking for someone new to stalk...